GOLIAD – Linda Austin said she was in Rockport recently getting work done on her car when a stranger approached her with a question.

“This man came up to me and said he heard I was a Daughter of the Republic of Texas,” Austin said.

“I told him, ‘Yes, that’s right.’

“Then he asked me, ‘Why don’t y’all do something about that monument in Goliad. It looks horrible and embarrassing.’ ”

The monument the man was talking about was the Fannin Monument in Goliad.

Austin, who is the president of the local Daughters of the Republic of Texas, said she then took it upon herself to do what she could to keep the monument presentable to visitors. She has voiced her dissatisfaction with Goliad County’s efforts to maintain the property.

“They do not cut the grass in the springtime because of the wildflowers and that’s fine with me,” Austin said. “They work hard at keeping it cleaned up during the re-enactment. The other times they clean it up is when I complain.”

Goliad County maintenance workers mowed and weedeated the monument area last week.

“If you take a look at the presidio and around there you can see that it doesn’t take very long after a rain for the Johnson grass to get away from you,” Bowman said. “They’re supposed to take weedeater and take all the weeds down and spray some herbicide so they don’t come back anytime soon.”

Austin said she feels the monument, which was erected in 1935, has been allowed to become a forgotten and neglected landmark in Goliad.

“(Judge Bowman) is a fine man, but, to me, it doesn’t seem like he is that interested in keeping the monument area clean,” Austin said.